Daniel Jones To Remain Colts’ Starting QB

Like Jones’ New York path, he has regressed after signing a big-ticket deal. Playing on a two-year, $88MM extension, the Indianapolis QB ranks 31st in QBR and carries a 4:7 TD-INT ratio into Week 8. His completion percentage (59.6) has cratered compared to where it was last season (68%), and the Colts have fired the GM (Chris Ballard) who signed off on the Jones signing and subsequent extension.

Even as rebuild rumors persist post-Ballard, Shane Steichen is not making a change at quarterback. Jones will remain Indy’s starter moving forward, per the fourth-year HC (via Fox 59’s Mike Chappell).

“He’s proven that he can do it, so that’s where the confidence comes from,” Steichen said, via ESPN.com’s Stephen Holder. “And we need to get him back playing to that level that he was last year. It’s taking a little bit longer.”

Jones, 29, had the Colts riding high during the first half of last season. Indianapolis sat 8-2 before its seven-game losing streak, a skid that took place largely without Jones — who suffered an Achilles tear in Week 14. Jones was not cleared for full work until training camp. The QB’s injury history is certainly a concern now, as he has an ACL tear and multiple neck ailments on his medical sheet now. The Colts are staying the course — for now, at least.

The Colts could not find a good trade price to unload Anthony Richardson, who is playing out his rookie contract after the team declined his fifth-year option. Richardson, whose struggles did plenty to sink the Ballard regime, has thrown two regular-season passes since Jones arrived on a one-year, $14MM deal in 2025. Health, preparation and performance issues have crushed Richardson’s trade value. He remains a name to monitor ahead of this deadline, now that the Colts appear headed toward a significant retooling effort in 2027. As it stands now, though, Richardson remains Indy’s QB2.

Riley Leonard finished last season as the Colts’ starter, after an interesting three-game Philip Rivers experiment, but the 2025 sixth-round pick remains the team’s third-stringer after losing a summer competition to Richardson.

The Jones contract will see a $10MM-plus guarantee vest on Day 5 of the 2027 league year. That money is already guaranteed for injury; it shifts to a full guarantee next March. Should Jones avoid another major injury, the Colts have a window to move on. And dead money likely will not be as big of a concern with a new GM coming in and a rebuild potentially on tap. As of now, though, no bubble-wrap scenario is planned with Jones.